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Schaeffler Likely to Take Control of Continental AG in 2010

Schaeffler Group is likely to wait until 2010 before it takes full control of Continental AG, German radio station NDR1 reported on 16 July. The report, which didn’t cite any sources, suggests that Schaeffler will wait until the lion’s share of the loan arrangement Conti racked up to finance the Siemens VDO acquisition expires. According to the report, this would also mean Schaeffler would have to re-negotiate conditions before the loans expire, and in the current conditions would not get such a good deal.

The German radio report was aired the same day that financial analysts at MorganStanley published an investor note suggesting “a takeover bid meant to fail could push the share price higher for the next 30 days.” The MorganStanley analysts point out that, in their opinion, a full takeover of Conti does not appear “financially feasible.” However, the takeover bid should clearly add strong support to the share price in the short term, the analysts conclude.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MD Takes Plunge on Commercial Tyre Service

Mike Carroll, the Managing Director of a subsidiary of Rhyl Tyre & Battery, has purchased his commercial tyre segment following a £320,000 deal.

Tyremaster, as the new company will be known, will operate with 12 employees and continue to provide a breakdown service for hauliers and agricultural and construction businesses in the area of the North Wales coast. It has units on the Deeside Industrial Estate and in Gaerwen on Anglesey.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Peter Gaster Named as New TIF Chairman

Peter Gaster has been appointed chairman of the Tyre Industry Federation (TIF), following the federation’s AGM in London last week. Gaster is also current chairman of the National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) and has represented the NTDA on the TIF Board since it joined the organisation three years ago.

“It is a great honour for me to take on this pivotal role in the UK tyre industry and I look forward to representing the varied interests of the industry as TIF’s chairman. NTDA continues to be totally supportive of the objectives of the TIF and I will ensure that TIF’s key role, as a forum to bring together the various sectors of our industry in the interests of better communication and understanding, continues to be the cornerstone of the organisation,” Peter Gaster commented.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ruia Group to Build 4 Billion Rupee Assam Plant

The Ruia Group of Kolkata, India has revealed plans to local news sources that they are to build a new tyre plant on a Greenfield site near the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport in Guwahati. The site is currently being prepared for industrial development by local government and Ruia looks set to invest heavily, with four billion rupees earmarked for the project in the next year and a half.

The company expects the facility to open with a production capacity of 50 tonnes per day initially. Ruia hopes to double that figure over time.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Conti to Make Mount Vernon, Ill. Investment

Continental’s North American division is ready to pump US$60 million into its Illinois plant spread over the next three years. The money will go towards expanding production capacity on the facility’s passenger, light truck and commercial tyre operations. The German manufacturer will expand its workforce to the tune of 75 new jobs, increasing production by around two million tyres every year.

News sources suggest that the company will spend around two-thirds of the total figure on new machinery and tools for the fabrication of passenger and light truck tyres, while the remaining third will be spent on updating the factory’s commercial tyre building machines.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Lone Wolf Crew Cuts its Teeth on Cooper Tyres

The Lone Wolf Transglobal Expedition made full use of the Cooper Discoverer Super Traction Tread on its 12-month trip of 30,000 miles in the wide variety of conditions present in 32 different countries. The success of the team brought lavish praise for the rugged Discoverer, which with its STT shod the crew’s Land Rover Wolf Defender. So much so, that the organisers of the successful expedition will be looking to Cooper Tire & Rubber Company once again to carry them through their next adventure.

The 12-month Lone Wolf trip saw Daniel Moylan and his crew tackle mud, ice, snow and water without a hitch Varying terrain was made all the worse by extreme temperatures, providing a demanding test not for the vehicle, the tyres and the team. The expedition made its way through Europe to Iran and the Middle East, across the jungles of South East Asia, to the USA and South America, before arriving back in the UK.

17th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Reveals New Boeing Fitment

Currently exhibiting at the Farnborough Airshow 2008, which runs until Sunday, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres has displayed its three new tyres, approved in March for the new Boeing 737NG, alongside two new main gear bias cross-ply tyres and a new radial-ply nose gear tyre.

Aviation news sources have noted that the massive backlog of orders for Boeing’s latest plane – not to mention the 2,500 already in service – means that Dunlop’s latest creations have enabled the company to improve its share in the medium-haul market sector.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Employees to Vote on Early Goodyear Plant Closure

The 60 remaining employees at Goodyear’s Tyler plant in East Texas are to vote on Friday whether to close the factory early, prior to the expiry date of the master union contract. Currently this document – in effect until July next year – forces the company to close its plant in Valleyfield, Quebec, but union members can choose to waive this agreement.

Both plants provide additional mixing capability to other Goodyear plants, but – with demand for rubber down and all plants able to mix themselves – its has become unnecessary for the manufacturer to run both operations. At present there are no plans to close the Quebec site.

The terms offered to the union by Goodyear, should the vote result in early closure, remain undisclosed.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tecalemit Launches New HGV Pit Jacks

Tecalemit Garage Equipment Co Ltd, a UK supplier of MoT and vehicle servicing equipment is set to launch its new range of heavy duty Pit Jacks for the HGV market.

The new SS 8708 Pit Jack is developed to feature a host of safety and operating features: the new model includes a ‘quick-stroke’ device which brings the lift pads rapidly up to the load point. It also benefits from a mechanical safety latching system and mechanically assisted descent. The 15,000 kg Pit Jack has a compact design, and provides a lifting stroke of 310mm.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Delphi Plans to Sell Brake Business

(Aftermarketnews.com) Delphi Corp. has retained W.Y. Campbell & Company to assist it in exploring sale opportunities for its brake business.

Delphi’s Brake business has estimated 2008 revenue of $295 million and more than 1,000 employees globally throughout three manufacturing and assembly facilities located in Juarez, Mexico, and Shanghai, China.

The business also has technical centers in Shanghai; Brighton, Mich.; and Dayton, Ohio. (Tire Review/Akron)

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Dunlop Gains Six OE Wins in Six Months

Dunlop’s Original Equipment team are celebrating six original equipment (OE) wins in six months. Dunlop’s business strategy includes the aim to be first with “strategic original equipment manufacturers” and this means fitting Touch Technology tyres onto a range of high performance cars including the Audi A5, Jaguar XF, Renault Laguna and Vauxhall Corsa VXR.

“Dunlop have a strong product range within the market, Dunlop’s pedigree is legendary. We have worked successfully over the last six months to achieve OE wins across a range of cars from the Vauxhall Corsa to the Jaguar XF. For a true driver, there’s no compromise, each tyre in Dunlop’s vast range has been uniquely engineered to offer the ultimate drive. We have worked closely with the vehicle manufacturers to ensure that they are fitting the right combination of high technology compound and tread pattern to achieve the performance the car is capable of” said Peter Wragg, Dunlop Original Equipment Account Executive.

Alfa Romeo, AMG, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and TVR are all amongst those that currently fit Dunlop tyres as standard.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Maxxis Signs Premiership Advertising Deals

Maxxis has signed lucrative advertising deals with Everton FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC, who finished fifth and eleventh respectively in last season’s Premier League. The announcement comes in addition to Maxxis renewal of support for Aston Villa FC, where it will continue with perimeter advertising at the Villa Park ground and VIP corporate hospitality package.

For the 2008/09 season Maxxis LED banner advertisements will also be located at Goodison Park and White Hart Lane, in prime positions on three sides of the pitch opposite the TV cameras. Maxxis representatives told Tyres & Accessories the company is changing its advertising to make a “big impact: when the first Premier League matches kick off on Saturday 16 August.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Clocks Up Half a Million Hours of Training Success

Michelin Training Centre is celebrating delivering its 500,000th hour of high training. The centre, which is close to Michelin’s UK headquarters in Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent, was set up at the start of 2002 and sees an average of over 3,000 people from all over the world come through its doors each year. The modern teaching environment provides both internal and external training on everything from basic time management to tyre related aspects of crash scene investigation.

In addition to the company’s own manufacturing and business staff, Michelin’s Training Centre is used by organisations such as the Police, the MOD and retailers to train staff about tyre design, construction and performance. The amount of training now being held at the Centre is being seen as a good indicator of how important Michelin believes the MTC will be for its ongoing success.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Continental Rejects ‘Unlawful’ 11.2 billion Euro Schaeffler Takeover

Continental AG has sharply rejected a 69.37 euros per share (roughly 11.2 billion euros) cash takeover offer from Schaeffler Group, describing it as an “opportunistic approach [that] does not reflect the full value of the company.” Continental AG was officially informed by the Schaeffler Group about its decision to make a takeover offer for the company on Tuesday 14 July and hit out publicly a day later (Wednesday). In a company statement Continental said the offer has “no convincing strategic rationale for a business combination” and that “Schaeffler is trying to achieve control over Continental in an unlawful manner.”

For the first time Continental lent its support to claims that Schaeffler already indirectly controls roughly a third of the company: “According to our analysis, the Schaeffler Group has secured access to 36 per cent of the outstanding capital of Continental in an unlawful manner – with the help of derivative positions and collaborating banks. This would result in a comfortable voting majority at the shareholders meeting and may even lead to a qualified voting majority.” According to the Financial Times, Schaeffler holds 2.97 per cent of Continental’s stock directly and has amassed the right to own an additional 32.95 per cent stake through various options. All of which begs the question, how can Continental fight off what is rapidly becoming the largest hostile takeover bid in Europe this year?

Despite press speculation that the potential takeover may result in the divestment of the tyre business, Schaeffler Group President and CEO, Dr. Jürgen Geißinger said the group’s focus is on combining the strengths of the two companies: “Schaeffler expressly supports the strategy of Continental including its tyre business.” His statement continued: “Schaeffler will not break up Continental AG. The company will continue to be listed on the stock exchange and, if possible, remain in the DAX index. Continental will remain an independent company headquartered in Hanover. No jobs will be lost in conjunction with the transaction.”

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

The Gentler Way to Change Run-Flats?

Hofmann, one of Snap-on Equipment’s brands, has redesigned its high specification monty 3300 racing tyre changer to handle run-flat and ultra high profile (UHP) tyres. Marketed as the gentle way to change run-flats, the new plus model enables a more gentile way of handling alloy rims through the use of plastic protectors fitted to the wheel mounting head and clamping jaws.

According to the company, an automatically tilting back post and ergonomically positioned foot control pedals ensure the new monty 3300 racing plus is also user friendly, along with the use of a self-centring four-jaw chuck controlled by two clamping cylinders for quick and accurate clamping.

16th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors